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Jack Hittinger

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Jack Hittinger is the sports editor of the Bemidji Pioneer. He is also the Bemidji State beat writer. He hails from the Great State of Michigan. Read his Bemidji State blog at http://thebeaverblog.areavoices.com/ and follow him on Twitter at @Jackhitts.

BEMIDJI -- It took time, but Whitney Wivoda is finally finding her groove on the ice again. The BSU redshirt sophomore scored her second goal of the season in Friday's game against North Dakota -- the first goal in a frenetic third period that saw the Beavers score three times and rally for the tie in Grand Forks. With four points on the season -- two goals and a pair of assists -- the numbers might not show it, but Wivoda feels like her old self again after missing most of 2012-13 with a knee injury.

BEMIDJI -- After a long trip to Fairbanks, Alaska, this week the BSU men's hockey team is ready to do something it isn't very familiar this season: Relax. "It's kinda different... some guys don't know how to feel this week," sophomore defenseman Graeme McCormack said of BSU's first bye week of the season. "It's a bit of an adjustment to kind of take your foot off the gas a little bit. It's nice to rest up but we're definitely thinking about this next weekend."

FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- Cory Ward scored twice, Bemdiji State scored twice on the power play and BSU's penalty kill continued to frustrate opponents as the Beavers topped Alaska 4-0 late Saturday night at the Carlson Center, bouncing back from a 3-0 loss Friday and earning the Western Collegiate Hockey Association split. Andrew Walsh made 25 saves for BSU to earn his second shutout of the season.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The BSU women's hockey team couldn't force North Dakota into overtime for a second straight night. The Beavers rallied from a 2-0 deficit on Friday night and earned a point against UND in their WCHA game. But on Saturday the Beavers fell just short. UND's Tanja Eisenschmid scored the go-ahead goal seven minutes into the third period and North Dakota escaped with a 2-1 win over Bemidji State at Ralph Engelstad Arena. Rachael Kelly, who scored a key third period goal for BSU on Friday, scored the lone goal for BSU (9-14-3, 6-12-2-1 WCHA)..

BEMIDJI -- Despite capturing an early 2-0 lead and dominating play for most of the game, the Bemidji High School girls hockey players knew they didn't have much margin for error against Alexandria Saturday afternoon. This proved especially true after Alexandria's Hannah Hansen scored an impressive 4-on-4 goal with less than five minutes to go, pulling the Cardinals to within a goal.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- Cody Kunyk scored what turned out to be the game-winning shorthanded goal as Alaska shut out BSU 3-0 Friday night in Western Collegiate Hockey Association action Friday at the Carlson Center. Jesse Wilkins made 28 saves for Bemidji State (7-13-7; 7-8-4 WCHA) but it wasn't enough as the Nanooks (10-11-4, 7-10-2 WCHA) had goals from three different players in the win. Kunyk scored his 13th goal of the season late in the first period following an interference call on teammate Colton Beck.

This weekend BSU men's hockey team embarks on its most grueling roadtrip of the season -- the long jaunt to Fairbanks, Alaska, to take on the Alaska Nanooks. It's supposed to be a 14-hour trip when all is said and done and the Beavers were scheduled to land in Fairbanks on Thursday morning at around 2 a.m. Alaska Time -- 5 a.m. Central. "I feel like it's one of those things that everyone thinks it's going to be so long that it ends up not being as bad as we think," sophomore center Cory Ward said. "You can't think too much about it."